Behind the scenes of an already chaotic recall process sits Marilyn Marks, an unaffiliated Aspen activist who is the driving force behind a lawsuit that’s thrown a new curve into the September special elections.

It was Marks, acting as a consultant to the state’s Libertarian Party, who worked with the Libertarians to highlight what she argues is a flaw with Colorado’s new election law, which she adamantly opposed.

Marks helped corral an attorney for the Libertarians, who had given up hope of fielding candidates. Marks says she informed party chairman Jeff Orrok of the conflict between state statute and the state constitution.

“They (Libertarians) had more time to get on the ballot,” said Marks. “And it’s clearly outlined in the Colorado Constitution.”

A Denver judge sided in their favor and ruled that the state constitution allowed prospective candidates 15 days before the Sept. 10 election to petition onto the ballots in the recall elections of Democratic Sens. John Morse of Colorado Springs and Angela Giron of Pueblo.

Clerks and the secretary of state followed state statute that gives candidates 10 days from the time an election date is set to petition onto the ballot.

The election was scheduled to be all mail-in ballots, though now it’s likely a polling place election will be held as clerks are unable to print and mail ballots in such a short time frame.

The case was appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court, but the high court said Thursday it wouldn’t hear the appeal.

Although she sat at the plaintiffs’ table throughout the Denver District Court case, Marks says she has not funded the Libertarians’ lawsuit.

Marks is not an opponent of absentee ballots, but she opposes what she considers to be “mandates” for all mail-in ballots because of secrecy concerns.

Marks’ organization, Citizen Center, has a case pending before the Colorado Supreme Court that deals with ballot secrecy.

“She’s (Marks) running a one-woman jihad to get rid of mail ballots. She used the Libertarian party to get rid of the mail ballots in the recall elections,” said Ellen Dumm, a Denver-based liberal consultant who lobbied to pass the sweeping elections bill this year.

Marks said she accepts the criticism from those like Dumm.

“If people are looking to blame me for following the constitution, that’s fine,” Marks said. “But next time, lawmakers should read the constitution before pushing bills through the legislature that are in direct conflict with it.”

Editor’s note: Because of a reporter’s error, this story incorrectly stated when a law was passed that sets a 10-day period from the time an election date is set for a candidate to petition onto the ballot. The law was passed in 2012.

A native of Colorado, Kurtis Lee was a politics reporter for The Denver Post from February 2011 until July 2014. He graduated cum laude from Temple University in 2009 with a degree in journalism and political science. He previously worked as an online writer in Washington, D.C., for the PBS NewsHour.

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